The Nation - News from July 11, 1985

The Air Force, already months behind its schedule for testing an anti-satellite weapon, has dismantled the missile system and sent a key component--the miniature homing vehicle-- back to the manufacturer for “engineering changes,” sources said in Washington. The decision, which follows by less than a month a similar action involving a special target satellite that would be needed for any test, creates further doubts about a program already facing an uncertain future in Congress. But the sources denied there were any “critical” problems in the weapon.